(The Center Square) – Arizona’s newly-independent U.S. senator and a senior Texas Republican plan to bring several of their colleagues to the southern border for a firsthand look at what she calls “Washington’s failure.”

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Drivers on Interstate 57 will be facing a detour next weekend as the Illinois Department of Transportation will close a portion of the highway to demolish a bridge south of Marion.

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Kevin McCarthy’s difficult road to becoming House speaker ended early Saturday morning after Republicans appeared to have miscounted the number of votes they needed and left him one vote short of winning the gavel, then quickly voted one last time to give him the win – with help from some of his biggest detractors.

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(The Center Square) – Illinois lawmakers are moving forward with a proposed ban on future sales of certain semi-automatic guns and magazines with more than 12 rounds.

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(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden said Thursday that he will visit the southern border Sunday. The announcement came in a speech on illegal immigration, where Biden promised more border security and pushed for increased legal immigration.

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(The Center Square) – Republican lawmakers remained divided Thursday, voting a seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th and 11th time for a Speaker of the House with no one getting the needed 218 votes to secure the spot.

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that he is “comfortable and confident” a state law ending cash bail that was set to take effect New Year’s Day is constitutional despite a court ruling to the contrary, but that supporters will “come back at it” if the lower court ruling stands.

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Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, in an interview aired Wednesday, is warning that the enormous migrant numbers being encountered at the southern border are “straining our system” as he again echoed administration calls for Congress to pass a sweeping immigration bill that includes an amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.

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Friends and foes of Kevin McCarthy were meeting behind closed doors Wednesday night after the House adjourned and members planned to return by 8 p.m.

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Damar Hamlin’s status has improved in a Cincinnati hospital, according to his uncle, Dorrian Glenn.

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